Operating the hammers of spike-machines



H. A. WILLS.

Spike Machine.

No. 6,950. Patented Dec. H, 1849.

a) ff v O i) Q Qa 1*/ 5 a 24. s t*l N u e Q Page H. A. WILLS.v

Spike Machine.

Pa'tented Dec. 11, 1849.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

3 Sheets-Sheet .3. H. A. WILLS.

NTENT HARRY A. VILLS, OF KEESEVILIIE, NEW YORK.

OPERATING THE HAMMERS F SPIKE-MACHINES.

T0 all whom t may concern Be it known that I, HARRY A. VVILLs, ofKeeseville, in the county of Essex and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Machines for ManufacturingVrought Nails and Spikes; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of my invention and of thecharacteristics which distinguish it from all others heretofore known,reference being had to the accompanying drawing, making part of thisspeciication, in which- Figure l represents a perspective view o-f myspike machine, Fig. 2 is a plan of the same with some portions removed,and Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section following the line .r ofFig. 2.

My invention consists in drawing out the point of the spike by a set ofhammers which act on the fo-ur sides of the rod, they being so arrangedthat they are drawn forward along the point between the blows, and atthe same time made to strike closer to gether. The machine is soconstructed that the fiber of the steel of which the knives, dies,header, &c., are made is opposed endwise to the pressure.

In the drawing A is the bed plate o-f the machine on which the otherportions are mounted. The cam shaft B revolves in bearings at one end ofthe bed plate and has a fly wheel C mounted upon it, together with thevarious cams for giving a direct motion to the several numbers of themachine, while the return motions are eHected by springs. Thus the cam aoperates the moving knife D; the cam a the moving die E; the cam a2 theheader F; the cam a3 the gage G; the cam wheel H, the pointing hammersb, b2, b3, and the cam a* moves the hammers toward the cam shaft so asto draw the point of the spike. There are two knives for cutting off thespike one of these, D, is fixed, and the other, D, moves; the latter issecured in a sliding box I, which is operated by the inclined extremityof the bar c acting upon the surface of an inclined plane cl, secured tothe sliding box I. The bar 0 is thrust forward by the cam a and iswithdrawn by -a spring, while the moving knife is also withdrawn by aspring acting on the sliding box in which it is secured. The dies whichgrip the spike are four in number E, E, E2, E3, two being stationary andtwo moving; one (E) of the stationary ones is immediately below theplace where.

the rod is introduced and is paired with a moving one E immediatelyabove it, the latter is secured in a box I attached to a lever' Jextending across the machine,hinged at o-ne extremity c to the bedplate, A, and operated through the medium of a connecting rod, K,attached to the other end e, by the rod c which is thrust forward by thecam a. The stationary die, E3, of the other pair is secured in a box,I3, which contains the stationary knife D; and the moving die, E2, issecured in the sliding box I which also contains the moving knife. Theheader, F, is placed immediately below the entering spike rod` and isoperated by the cam a2 through the intervention of a rod e2, rock shaftM, and cam or toe at; the return motion being effected as with the othermembers by a spring. Immediately opposite the header is the gage, Gr,against which the rod strikes when thrust into the machine, and whichregulates the length of the spike. This gage is adjustable so as to varythe length of the point, and 'is situated between the four hammers, Z),b', Z22, 3, which form the point; as soon as the spike is gripped by thedies this gage is withdrawn toward the shaft by a cam a3 so as to leavethe inner extremity of the rod free for the action of the pointinghammers. The latter are four in number the two, b2, b3, at the sides areoperated by the cams g, on the sidesof the cam wheel Y H acting throughthe intervention of hinged brays L, and their faces are suflicientlylong to include between them the whole length of the longest pointrequired, these hammers always strike in the same place and when nearestto each other always include the same distance between their faces;their oiice is to keep the lpoint of uniform width while it is drawn outby the upper and under hammers, Z), Z2, which advance toward and recedefrom the cam shaft and are operated by cams, g, on the periphery of thecam wheel, H, acting through the intervention of the hinged brays, 71.,on which the t-ails of the helves slide.

The advance of the two hammers (b, b,) is effected by pivoting theirhelves to a carriage, L, which is drawn toward the cam shaft by the cam,a4, act-ing through the lever, z', and connecting rod, j; its returnmotion and the consequent recession of the hammers being effected bysprings. The tail of each helve is furnished with an adjustable wiper,7c, which can be set by a screw Z to accommodate itself to the differentsizes of spikes required, and to the differing inclinations of their'points; it will be perceived that these wipers are inclined to thedirection in which the carriage moves, hence as the latter is drawntoward the cam shaft the faces of the hammers will continually strikecloser to each other, thus drawing out the point between them in amanner precisely the same as that practiced by a blacksmith in pointinga spike by hand. There are two sets of cams on the periphery of the camwheel, one to operate each hammer, hence, if this wheel was secured tothe cam shaft, the hammers would make two sets of blows for eachrevolution of the shaft; this would be worse than useless as they wouldinterfere with t-he motion of the gage, G, and prevent the spike rodfrom entering between them. This difficulty is obviated by making thecam wheel loose on the sha-ft and connecting it therewith by a slidingclutch N, which is alternately disconnected and connected with the camwheel H by a face cam, m, secured to the clutch and running against asnug projected from `the bed'plate, and by a spring n which forces itagainst the cam wheel when the cam m has passed the snug. Bythisarrangement the cam wheel revolves with the cam shaft but half t-hetime, and remains at rest after each one of its half revolutions untilit is siezed again by the clutch. The cams which operate -the dies havea dead motion so that the spike is held securely until the head andpoint are completed; it is then released and is thrust from thestationary dies by a discharging rod, p, acting against its side, andoperated by a lever, 1', and a cam a5, secured to to the rim of the flywheel C.

The operation of the machine is as follows: the spike rod previouslyheated is introduced above the header and between the moving and fixedknives, being supported above the header by a rest, 8,' the rod isthrust into the machine unitl the end strikes the gage, Gr, when theclosing knife cuts off ,the portion of the rod between it and the mersat the same time form the point; the finished spike is released by thewithdrawal of the moving dies, and is ejected sidewise by thedischarging rod from its place on the lower iXed die, when it drops fromthe machine. As the knives separate, the spike rod is again thrustforward, and spikes are successively made in vthe same manner until therod is exhausted.

I have heretofore described two 'of the pointing hammers as havingstationary pivots, but it is evident that in making tapering spikes ornails all four hammers should be drawn toward the cam shaft, and thatthe tails of their helves should be furnished with the adjustable wipersbefore described. Cases will also arise in which it is unnecessary tomake the pivots of the hammers movable, and then the whole four may bearranged as the side hammers (h2 71,3) herein described.

In making different kinds of work it may be found necessary to vary theform proportions and arrangement of the faces of the hammers, and this Icontemplate doing. These several modifications which I propose to makein the machine to adapt it to different kinds of work are so obvious andso easily made by any one conversant with the co-nstruction and use ofsuch machinery, that I deem a particular description of the sameunnecessary and therefore have omitted it.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl.The combination of advancing and receding hammers with their respectiveadjustable wipers and hinged brays arranged and operating substantiallyas herein set forth.

2. I claim the adjustable wipers (la) which can be set to cause thehammers to form during the operation of forming the point.y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 17th day ofSep. 1848.

HARRY- A. wILLs.

Vitnesses I. I-I. WATSON, WVM. D. WASHINGTON.

